Smoke and Mirrors
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: A true magician never reveals his secrets, but with Sarah's birthday fast approaching and some unwanted visitors complicating things even further, Preston might have to decide very soon if he'd be more willing to break his code, or his own heart.
1. Out of the Shadows

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers... yet. Oh well, a guy can dream, can't he?**

* * *

The pleasant sounds of a guitar music floated down the hallways of Summer Cove High as another school day drew to a close. Amid the clamor of students headed home for the day, several others hung around the hallways catching up with friends while others gathered in the front atrium which served as an informal student lounge area. Brody Romero sat at one of the tables listening while his older brother Levi strummed some chords on his guitar and dabbled with some new improvised melodies for a country song. At another table across the way, Sarah sat intently writing in a notebook while Hayley was buying some food at one of the nearby snack carts that had been set up.

While the other Ninja Steel Rangers took some time out to relax from their busy school day, Preston finished gathering his belongings from his locker and made his way down the halls to meet them in the atrium. As he walked, he was joined by Calvin who had just showered up after his last period gym class. While they walked, Calvin glanced over to Preston and noticed his friend wore a distracted expression on his face. He was so distracted, he wasn't even paying attention as Monty came walking down the other side of the hall carrying a large stack of books. Calvin reached out at the last moment and pulled Preston clear to avoid a collision before clapping the Blue Ranger's shoulder.

"Hey, Earth to Presto. Everything okay? You almost ran over Monty just now."

Preston gave a sheepish look and adjusted his bookbag on his shoulder, "Oh, sorry Calvin. I kinda spaced out there. I was just thinking a lot about something really big."

"Really? Debating what your next big magic trick is going to be?"

Preston shook his head, "No. I was actually trying to think of what I should get Sarah for her birthday. I'd like to try and get her something really special this year but I've been coming up blank."

"Oh?" Calvin asked with a teasing grin, "Any particular reason for such a special gift?"

The Blue Ranger gave a flustered look and cleared his throat, "What? Come on Calvin! I just wanted to do something extra nice to thank Sarah for being such a good friend to me since we all became Rangers last year. You remember how disappointed she looked when she thought we all forgot about her during Christmas a few months ago? I'd just hate to disappoint her like that again and see her so sad."

Calvin nodded quietly in understanding, "Ah, right. Well, you might want to get on it man. Her birthday is coming up next week and time is running out. You don't want to show up to the party empty handed, right?"

Preston raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Says the guy who forgot his anniversary with his girlfriend."

"Hey, at least I've got one," Calvin retorted gently as he gave his friend a light elbow in the ribs and they made their way back into the atrium. While they approached and stopped to talk to Brody and Levi, Haley came over to the corner table where Sarah was already sitting. When Hayley took a seat across from her, Sarah glanced up and closed her pink notebook that she had been busy scribbling in. Hayley offered her friend some of the pretzel sticks that she had bought from the snack cart while giving an inquisitive look, "Top secret, huh? Brainstorming something for you next mad science experiment?"

Sarah took a pretzel stick and held up the familiar pink cover of one of her books, "Actually, I was just jotting down a few quick things in my diary. I'm almost out of pages in this one so I have to conserve the last bits of free space."

Hayley gave a thoughtful look over to Calvin across the room, "Hmm, it's been kinda quiet at school this week and we haven't had any monster attacks either. You must have come across some juicy gossip?"

Sarah shook her head, "No. I was thinking about my birthday next week. I was just writing some thoughts about what I'd like to do for the party or some of the things I'd like to see happen for the coming year."

Hayley gave her a wink, "Girl, don't you worry. Calvin and I have got you covered with a great gift already. Even Kody helped so I'm sure you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will," Sarah smiled in agreement before the two girls turned to meet Calvin and Preston as they came over to say hello. Calvin sat down first, putting an arm around the White Ranger and giving her a quick kiss on the side of the head, "Aha, already started grubbing without us. They weren't selling any barbecue potato chips?"

Hayley offered him the bag of pretzel sticks with an amused roll of the eyes, "Sorry, we'll just have to settle for something healthy today. Think you can manage?"

"I guess I can make that sacrifice," Calvin replied dramatically as he took one of the pretzels, "But only because I love you."

Sarah laughed gently and shook her head before she leaned back in her seat and addressed her friends in general, "So, any big plans this weekend? The weather should be pretty nice so I'd like to do some work on my hoverboard and take it out for a spin around town. Preston, you want to come too? Maybe I can stop by tomorrow afternoon?"

He paused in surprise, "Me? I… sure, but…"

"But whatever you do, just make sure that Sarah doesn't see that extra special gift you got her for her birthday, okay?" Calvin cut in giving the Blue Ranger a conspiratorial nudge.

Preston silently glared at Calvin for a moment before he felt Sarah reach over and excitedly tug at his sleeve, "Something extra special? Really? What is it?"

Preston fumbled about and tried to quickly think of a way out while giving a weak laugh, "Oh… I can't tell you. Otherwise you won't be surprised, right?"

"Come on Preston, can't you just give me a hint or something? One little clue?" Sarah insisted.

By that point, Brody and Levi had come over to see what was going on and overheard the tail end of the conversation. Brody gave a cheerful look and scratched his chin as he took a seat nearby, "Hey, if we're doing a guessing game about the gifts, can I play too?"

"No. We're not playing any games and I'm not giving any hints," Preston said in a mildly flustered voice while trying to deflect the topic aside, "I think we should all be focusing more on going out next weekend and doing something fun to celebrate, right?"

"I reckon he's got a point," Levi shrugged calmly in agreement while giving a little tip of his Stetson hat toward Preston, "Besides, I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises to go around as far as the party stuff goes."

"Speaking of, let's just hope the monsters don't try to crash the party and give us their own surprises either," Brody added before his brother gave him a light smack upside the head for the threat of possibly jinxing the celebration.

At that moment, any further discussion was cut off as a handsome young man entered the school's atrium. He looked to be about the same age as the other Rangers but he wasn't a familiar student at Summer Cove High either. He had short sandy brown hair in a curtain haircut and wore dark jeans with a dark leather jacket. Unlike the wannabe greaser jacket of the Rangers' classmate Ace, the stranger's attire looked more like that worn by a sports biker.

As he took off his riding gloves, he looked about the lobby and stopped when he spotted Sarah. He immediately smiled and gave a friendly wave before calling out, "Sarah Thompson? Is that you over there?"

The other Rangers all exchanged looks of surprise as Sarah returned the wave and happily bounded over to greet the stranger with a big hug. "Brad? I had no idea you were coming! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood so I thought I'd try to come by and surprise you."

The new visitor named Brad set her down and turned to greet the other Rangers as they came over to meet the stranger. Sarah gathered her friends and warmly gestured to the new arrival, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Brad Ellis. He was an old classmate and a good friend of mine from Panorama City. Brad, I'd like you to meet my friends."

She went down the line one by one and introduced the Rangers. Brad stopped at the end when he shook Levi's hand and his eyes went wide, "Wait... you're really Levi Weston? THE country music star?"

"Fraid so," Levi answered exchanging a friendly handshake, "Nice to meet you."

"Wow!" Brad replied before turning back to Sarah, "I had no idea you were hanging out with celebrities over here. How cool is that?"

As Sarah smiled and gave a sheepish shrug, Preston cleared his throat and spoke up, "So... Brad, you said you were from Panorama City too?"

Brad nodded, "Yeah. Sarah and I were classmates before she moved here and I just thought that since I was in town, maybe I'd try to stop in and catch up a little. I have some extended family here and they're letting me stay with them for the week while the Summer Cove Spring Bike Exhibition and Rally is going on."

"You're into sports bikes?" Hayley surmised looking at his clothes.

"What can I say? I've always had a need for speed and excitement," Brad shrugged as he put a friendly arm over Sarah, "Back home in Panorama, Sarah would love to come riding along sometimes and see how fast the bikes could go. I even let her modify my bike engine to get a little more horsepower, but I'm not totally sure it's street legal either."

"That sounds epic," Brody grinned with interest while Calvin stepped forward in eager excitement.

"Hey... I'm kind of a car guy myself. You don't mind showing me what kind of setup you've got, do you?"

Brad shook his head with a laugh, "Nah. We can go outside and I'll show you in a minute."

Calvin looked to Haley and his girlfriend gave a gracious nod, granting him permission to go look at the sports bike along with Brody. Before they turned to head outside, Brad stopped and asked, "Sarah, while I'm here, I was wondering if you wanted a ride home? Maybe catch up a little bit later?"

"Sure! I'd love to," she said enthusiastically.

Before she left, everyone stopped as Preston hurried back to the table and retrieved her pink diary, "Hey, wait up. You might not want to forget this."

As Sarah thanked him for remembering it, Brad gave a chuckle as he eyed the book, "You've still got that silly old thing? I remember you were always writing in that, especially right before you left to go to Summer Cove."

"Well, I had a lot of good experiences and things I wanted to remember so I put them down in here," she said as she tucked her diary in her bookbag. With that, she took her old classmate's arm and headed outside followed by Brody, Calvin, and Levi to admire the bike and talk more. As they departed the atrium, Preston remained quiet and wrinkled his features in a slightly concerned expression while idly straightening up the dark colored track jacket he was wearing. That was until he stopped and realized that Hayley was still present. What he didn't see was that she might have caught the shadow of trouble that had crossed his face before he put on his best cheerful expression.

"Aright Hayley, I don't know about you but I think I'm going to head home. I've got something important to do."

"Anything I can help you with?" she asked gently but the Blue Ranger politely waved her off and shook his head while taking a path to the side doors.

"Nope. Trust me, everything is good. I'll catch you later this weekend."

The White Ranger raised her eyebrow and quietly shook her head to herself before making her way outside to go find Calvin and keep him from drooling too much over the suped up motorcycle parked out front.

* * *

Meanwhile up on the Warrior Dome, the villainous host of the game show Galaxy Warriors paced them empty stage while some of his kudabots busily mopped and polished the studio in preparation for the upcoming show in a few days time. Unfortunately for Cosmo Royale, it had been a slow recruiting week for monster contestants and he was dragging his feet about selecting the next challenger for the Power Rangers. If he were to be perfectly honest, all the volunteer contestants he had reviewed that week hadn't quite had any of the entertainment quality he was looking for. As he continued to idly pace and brainstorm his next scheme, he came across his peer Madame Odius as she seemed to slink out of the shadows to meet with him.

"How goes the preparations for your next show?" Odius asked as the sorceress with sinister canine features fixed her narrow eyes on him. It was difficult to tell if she was sincerely curious, or if she was just feigning politeness. Ever since she had partially taken over the ship after the fall of Galvanax, the two monsters had formed a sort of uneasy truce deciding that it was best to maintain a working relationship for now and stay out of each other's way for the sake of peace on the ship.

"If you must know, I was just narrowing down the list of contenders for the next broadcast and I expect it should make for a good show," Cosmo replied officiously while gripping his cane.

"Either you know something I don't, or you're a terrible liar," Odius smirked quietly as she walked with him past a few laboring bots, "I saw the recent list of applicants for the show and I wasn't impressed either."

"Unless you're here to ask a favor or help me with the show, then you're wasting my time," Cosmo replied but Odius straightened her silk oriental style robes and waved a hand.

"My dear Cosmo, I'm actually here to do both. I believe I have a monster ready and waiting who will provide an entertaining challenge for the Rangers. All I ask is that you let me field him."

Cosmo fixed her with a skeptical look, "And what exactly is your angle here Odius?"

"You don't think I sometimes like to cause a little mayhem and destruction too?"

Cosmo crossed his arms, "Not unless you're hoping to get something out of it."

"The fact of the matter is, you're in need of talent right now and I have what you want," Odius pointed out before stalking off into the shadows once more with a malevolent laugh, "I'm not asking for much Cosmo. Just consider my offer... while you still have some time."


	2. Coldsnap

A few days later, Preston left his home and headed into Summer Cove's downtown area. It was early Spring and even though it was still a little on the cool side, the sun and a warm air off the ocean made for pleasant conditions to be outside today. Preston zipped up his blue jacket and continued on his walk around the small city's commercial district browsing past some stores and window shopping along the way. While he normally passed through this section of downtown to respond to monster attacks or go to his favorite magic shop, today he was there for another reason. He was desperately hoping to find something that might serve as a good birthday gift for Sarah. Unfortunately, he still had not had much luck in finding something that was personal and special, but not too extravagant or sentimental either.

Who would have thought that buying gifts for girls could be so difficult? Granted, Preston was an only child and never really had to buy gifts for sisters or other female relatives. He had still been a bit young when his mother passed away so he couldn't claim much experience there either. In a sense, girls were still largely a mystery to Preston as he had never really had a girlfriend either, for obvious reasons. To many of his female classmates at school, Preston often found that they regarded him as a bit of an eccentric. While he was harmless enough, Preston knew that a lot of girls didn't think performance magic was all that cool and he understood why they probably wouldn't want to go out with someone who liked such a dorky hobby either. That was okay though. Over time, he had learned to deal with it and not let others deter him from what he loved. But there were still days he wished that he could get the same kind of attention or respect from those who liked more mainstream things such as sports or perhaps even sport bikes.

That reminded him, today Sarah was going to be busy hanging out with her old classmate Brad again. She had already cancelled plans to go hoverboarding with Preston on Saturday and it looked like she was adjusting her plans today as well. While he could understand that she'd want to spend some extra time with an old friend, he couldn't quite help but feel a little disappointed and uncomfortable about the arrangement either. It was a little irrational to think like that so he shook it from his mind and focused again on the task at hand.

If anything, he wanted to do something nice for Sarah and thank her for becoming such a good friend. Like Hayley, she had been one of the few girls at school who didn't treat him like social kryptonite, nor did they ever mind hanging out with him or view it as some kind of duty or chore. What meant even more was the fact that the two girls had always been kind and accepting of him. He was truly grateful for friends like that and he wanted to properly express that admiration starting with this gift.

As he strolled past a few more shops and into an open plaza, he was surprised to come across Levi sitting at a table eating a late lunch by himself. When he walked out in public places like this by himself, the Gold Ranger sometimes liked to dress a little differently, hoping that most of his potential fans wouldn't be able to recognize him incognito. As he sat at an outdoor patio table, Levi enjoyed a plate of French fries served alongside a large delicious cheeseburger. Before the Gold Ranger could take a bite of his food, he looked up when he saw Preston approach from across the walking path.

Preston gave a small wave and stopped at the table, "Hey Levi, I wasn't expecting to run into you here."

"Well... I was out running some errands and decided to stop for a late lunch," he said gesturing to his burger, "You want to join me?"

Preston waved the food off but took a seat across from him at the table noting the baseball cap on Levi's head as part of the disguise, "Nice hat."

Levi grinned and pointed to the orange star logo of the Houston Astros, "I know, right? I liked the star so I just couldn't help myself. If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing out and about here? I thought maybe you'd be hanging out with Sarah today."

The Blue Ranger shook his head, "No, she's catching up with her friend Brad. I was out shopping to get her a gift for next week but I still have no idea what to give her. What did you and Brody plan to do?"

Levi took a bite of his food, "Easy, we got her some sports gear. I know some guys in Blue Bay Harbor who run a sporting goods shop there and they offered me some good deals on stuff the last time I was touring there. If I had known Sarah was into bikes too, I would have asked those shop owners for more recommendations since they're big into motocross."

Preston shrugged, "I don't know, I was thinking of trying to do something a little more personal. I already know Mick and Redbot are going to give her some modified parts for her hoverboard."

Levi scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Well if you don't want to go the material route, maybe do something creative? I could help you write a song?"

Preston chewed his lip indecisively, "A song? I can't sing like you can. Besides, don't you think that might be a little too personal?"

Levi continued eating and gave a perplexed look, "Too personal now? You can't have it both ways man. Why don't you just chill out with me for a bit and we'll figure something out?"

* * *

Meanwhile, several buzzcams droids took up positions around a downtown park of Summer Cove as a new monster was teleported down from the Warrior Dome. The creature had a slim body build and appeared to be made of an icy substance fused with rock. It had jagged ice crystals protruding from its back and the crown of its head was adorned with pointed icicles. As the monster got its bearings and surveyed the area with its ice blue eyes, it drew forth its weapons in preparation to wreak havoc on Summer Cove. In its hands, the monster held a pair of large curved blades shaped liked sickles that were made of ice and radiated cold energy around it.

Up on the Warrior Dome ship, Madame Odius watched quietly as her monstrous servant calling himself Ice-Sickle struck a pose for the buzzcams and began to carry out its raid of the city. She could hear the eager roar of the monster fans cheering while Cosmo commentated on the action below. So far so good. For now, Cosmo was keeping his fans entertained and it wouldn't be long before the Rangers showed up again. It was her hope that Ice-Sickle could put the Rangers on ice so that she could seize her own prize: the Rangers' ninja power stars.

* * *

Not too far from the commotion, Sarah had arrived downtown with her former classmate Brad and they sat eating some ice cream cones on the outdoor patio section of the ice cream shop. They had spent the morning touring the city on Brad's bike before stopping to relax for a while. At the moment, they were both sharing a laugh over a funny story that Sarah was relating from school. "And then before the microphone could cut out, Monty farted so loud that the entire lunchroom must have heard it. Oh my gosh, you should have seen it. Preston was laughing so hard that the milk he was drinking came out of his nose."

As their own laughter subsided, Brad cleared his throat, "You know Sarah... I couldn't help but notice that you've mentioned Preston quite a bit in a lot of your stories that you've told me."

"Well, sure. Why not?" Sarah asked innocently, "He was the first friend I made here and we hung out a lot ever since."

"I don't know... it just seemed kinda odd I guess," Brad continued while comparing him to some of Sarah's other friends he had met up with the other day like Brody, Hayley, and Calvin, "Preston just doesn't really seem like your type."

"My type?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"Well yeah... I mean, it sounds like he can be a little timid and awkward sometimes," Brad pointed out, "Plus you said he's into stage magic? Come on... you have to admit that's kinda dweeby, don't you think?"

"Be nice," Sarah chided him with a little frown, "Preston is just a little different, that's all. He's always been very kind and thoughtful to us and he really helped make me feel welcome when I started school here."

"So you two aren't going out or anything, right?" Brad asked curiously.

Sarah blinked again, "What? I... no. I mean... why are you asking a weird question like that?"

Before he could respond, they heard the cry of panicked civilians from across the way. The two turned and saw a small crowd of people fleeing in the wake of a new ice themed monster marching down the street flanked by a small band of kudabots. As the robotic footsoldiers rampaged down the road smashing store fronts and destroying public property, Ice-Sickle used his twin weapons to spray sheets of freezing cold energy at various targets to test its powers. The better part of the boulevard was suddenly covered in ice while several cars were frozen solid in blocks of ice too. The monster cackled and hacked apart one of the frozen vehicles with its bladed weapon before stopping to read a large sign posted on a nearby post.

It was a flier for the Summer Cove Exhibition and Bikers Rally coming up and it gave him a devious idea for how to cause more pain and destruction for the humans of that city. While the monster paused to examine the sign, the kudabots continued their rampage as it reached where Sarah and Brad were sitting.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" the Pink Ranger called as she pulled him to his feet and gestured to his sports bike nearby on the curb, "Start the bike!"

Brad scrambled to his bike in fear and began fumbling about to start up the vehicle in a panic. As he momentarily froze up, a pair of the kudabots closed in and tried to capture them. Not wanting to blow her identity, Sarah grimaced and leapt in using some ninja moves she had picked up in her training as a Ranger over the course of the last year. She sent one minion tumbling away with a flying jump kick before she outmaneuvered the other and kicked its knees out from the side using another sneaky ninja move. As the disabled kudabot crumbled to the ground, Brad watched Sarah fight off the attackers in amazement before he started the bike himself.

Just as Ice-Sickle joined the fight, Sarah turned and hopped on the back of the bike just as she saw the morphed Blue and Gold Rangers arrive to confront the monster. She looked quietly to the two male Rangers trying not to act like she knew them even as Preston stepped forward. He was surprised to see her there and maybe a little unhappy at the sight of Brad, but there wasn't any time for that right now. "I... uh, are you okay, miss?"

Sarah nodded, "We'll be okay now. Thanks."

Levi made a tipping of the hat gesture to the two before turning to face the monsters, "Much obliged, but you'd better let us handle things from here."

As Brad and Sarah sped off on the sport bike, Preston and Levi drew their ninja blades and stood their ground against the invaders. Levi gripped his guitar blade and called out a taunt, "You came a little late there pardner. I reckon Winter time's already over."

"It doesn't matter what time of the year it is. I'm going to put you Rangers on ice," the monster snarled, "And the last thing I need right now is taking lip from a bunch of _space ninjas with attitude_!"

The kudabots surged forward and both Preston and Levi quickly mowed them down while barely dodging several icy bursts of energy from the sickle attacks. As they dismantled the last kudabot, they both made a combined charge on the monster with their blades. Ice-Sickle met their attack and clashed with the Rangers using his own edged weapons to deflect their attacks. Due to his faster and more agile frame, the monster deftly parried aside Levi and Preston's slashes while keeping them on the defensive. As the monster broke free of a cross block and jumped back, the Rangers dove aside when Ice-Sickle unloaded another beam of frost energy which tore up the streets while creating several ice spikes.

"Why won't you Rangers just stand still?"

The monster was suddenly blasted aside as the other Ninja Steel Rangers made their way on to the scene armed with their own blaster weapons. Brody took the lead in the formation as he leveled his weapon threateningly, "Why don't you just chill out monster!"

The other Rangers silently groaned at such a lame pun before Ice-Sickle got back up and saw that it was outnumbered. "Don't you worry Rangers, I'll be back soon enough."

It used its weapons to spray a small cloud of blinding ice crystals and then withdraw from the battlefield, leaving the confused Rangers where they stood. Once the obscuring screen of frost blew away, Hayley shook her head and put away her ninja blade. Giving a sigh, she turned to Preston, "Bummer. That monster away..."

She stopped when she saw the Blue Ranger still looking off in the other direction where Sarah had made her escape earlier. When he realized Hayley was watching him, Preston quickly turned back to her in embarrassment, "Err... sorry Hayley, what did you say? I didn't hear you there."

Brody interjected instead and took charge of the situation, "Come on everyone. Let's head back to the base and let Mick know what happened. We'll have our work cut out for us with another monster on the loose."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Bonus points to anyone who spots the multiple references to a past PR season here. ;)**


	3. Magician's Assistance

A few days later, a relative peace had returned to Summer Cove after the most recent attack from the monster calling itself Ice-Sickle. While it was a bit unusual for monsters to disappear for days at a time, none of the civilians or Rangers seemed to mind the extra time to breathe a little easier. In the interim, Mick and Redbot promised to be doing constant scans of the city and alert the Rangers the moment that any trouble would show up. In a way, it was good that such a pressing threat could be delayed since Preston was still in the midst of dealing with another mini crisis of his own. Sarah's birthday was in just a couple days now and he was still at a loss as to what to give her.

After school that day, the Blue Ranger sat by himself in the room where the school's chess club met. Some of the other club members would be coming along in a while, but he figured he'd use the time to try and brainstorm a little. His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Hey! There you are. Mind if I sit and join you for a game?"

Hayley made her way into the room and took a seat across from him a the table. She rearranged the chess pieces and made the first move with a white colored pawn, "What's up? How are you doing?"

"Just fine..." he answered carefully while making his own counter move on the board.

Hayley gave a thoughtful look and moved again, "Really? I figured you might be a little preoccupied. I heard you had been kinda worried about finding a gift for Sarah's birthday."

"I knew it. I'm guessing Calvin ratted me out?" Preston mumbled as he took his turn.

"Actually, it was Levi. He mentioned it to me in passing and said he felt a little bad that he couldn't help you more," Hayley explained, "He said you wanted to do something _extra_ special."

"Well... sure. In a way I consider Sarah to be my best friend so why wouldn't I want to give her a unique gift?"

"I dunno... maybe because you don't want to scare her or give her the wrong message?" Hayley guessed as she moved her bishop across the board in a threatening position.

Preston frowned slightly and used a castling move to maintain his defenses, "Scare her? What kind of message do think I'm trying to give?"

Hayley pondered her next move and then fixed him with a level gaze, "I'm not sure. Maybe you can tell me because you don't seem too certain yourself."

She moved a knight and took one of Preston's pawns, "I saw the way you were looking toward Sarah when she was heading off with Brad these last few days... almost like you were too concerned, or maybe uncomfortable about everything?"

"Don't be silly. I'm just looking out for her," Preston scoffed as he counter moved and took one of Haley's pieces, "She's free to hang out with whoever she wants. If you think I have feelings for Sarah..."

He stopped and looked at the board realizing he had blundered by letting himself be drawn into a trap by Hayley, both figuratively and literally. The White Ranger pressed her attack in game, "Do you? I know magicians like to keep their secrets, but you don't have to play your cards so close to your chest all the time either."

Preston grimaced realizing the situation he was in before he met Hayley's gaze, "And what if I do?"

"I'd ask myself if those feelings are genuine," she said as she continued to watch him ponder his next move.

On the first day he had met Sarah out front of school, Preston would have been hard pressed to deny that he hadn't felt the least bit attracted or smitten with the new girl. Not only was she pretty, talented, and smart, but she had been one of the few people who didn't turn up her nose toward him when he invited her to his magic shows. She had never treated him like he was some social misfit or made him feel bad about being different and it was something he was grateful for. At the time, it had made him feel more confident and encouraged him to do a good job so that he could show that kind new girl just how amazing and talented he could be too.

Over the course of their becoming friends and serving together as Rangers for the past year, Preston had often wondered to himself if those feelings he experienced around Sarah were just infatuation. Maybe he just had a little bit of an innocent crush on her because she was the first pretty girl to really show him some kindness and attention without asking for anything in return. While he still valued the trust and the friendship he had built with Sarah up to now, maybe the thought of that dynamic changing because of Brad's arrival scared him. Maybe Hayley was right and he was lying to himself a little, hiding his true feelings toward Sarah and the other Rangers behind an act of figurative smoke and mirrors.

He moved his rook piece forward in a suicide attack to slow Hayley down, "Of course they are. Sarah's my friend and she means a lot to me... probably more than she knows."

Hayley smiled at the admission, "Then maybe you should go and tell her for yourself."

"You really think that's smart?" Preston asked hesitantly, "I mean... what if I totally blow it and make a fool of myself? Besides, why the heck would Sarah even think about feeling the same thing towards me? Compared to someone as good-looking and exciting as Brad, I'm... well, lame."

"Sarah never thought you were lame before," Hayley remarked while planning her move, "At the very least, I'm sure she'd appreciate the fact you were brave enough to say something and that you were being honest with her. Don't wait around and waste more time. Be bold and tell her today!"

Preston frowned to himself with a pensive look while mentally psyching himself up, "Yeah... all right... the thing is, I'm still going to need an edge."

"Easy. Give her an early birthday gift," Hayley winked, "Sarah mentioned something to me a few days ago and I happen to know just the thing you could give her."

"Really? What?"

Haley leaned over and whispered something in the Blue Ranger's ear causing a wide grin to spread across his face. He threw a grateful arm around the White Ranger's shoulders and gave her a grateful hug before rushing out of the room, "That's an awesome idea! Thanks Hayley!"

As the other members of the school's chess club walked into the room, Haley gave a little smirk of satisfaction to herself before making her final move and cornering Preston's king piece, "Checkmate."

* * *

Later that day, Sarah was out at one of Summer Cove's large outdoor parks along with Brad. By now, the Bike Rally and Exhibition was just starting to kick off as riding enthusiasts gathered along with a fairly good sized crowd of spectators near some of the large parking lots of the park. Riders came to show off their sleek custom bike designs and polished paint jobs while others did some minor stunts for the crowd. Aside from a lot of the other display tents of vendors and sponsors, the majority of participating riders got in line to register for the ride around the city. After registering early and taking a quick look around, Brad and Sarah took a little walk off to the edge of the main event in a quieter area of the park. As they walked, Sarah carried her pink notebook with her and wore a thoughtful look on her face.

"I can't believe you," her old friend and classmate sighed in amusement, "You brought that book along with you today?"

"Of course!" she replied tucking the notebook under her arm, "This should be a really fun day and I want to be ready to write everything down so that I can remember it later."

As they walked, Brad looked to the warm greens of the trees and the colorful flowers lining some of the trails before giving a sigh, "You know... I have to admit. I'm a little jealous this is your new home. From what I've seen, Summer Cove is a really nice place."

"Yeah... it is," Sarah answered idly, "Even with all the monster attacks that have been going on, I really like this place. There's a lot of beauty and the people here are all pretty nice too. I can understand why the Power Rangers fight so hard to protect it."

"Right... speaking off, you seemed to do your own impression of a Power Ranger when you fought off those tin-heads a couple days ago," Brad pointed out, "I'm sure if those Rangers didn't already have a Pink member, they'd be wanting to sign you up after your little show back there."

"Ah come on Brad, you're embarrassing me," Sarah said trying to wave it off with a sheepish laugh, "Me? A Power Ranger? Seriously?"

"No, I mean it. It was really brave of you," he insisted, "And if I can be honest... I was really impressed. Thank you for saving me Sarah."

She gave a kind smile and tried to shrug it off as she kept walking, "Don't mention it. What are friends for, right?"

Brad stopped her and caught her gently by the hand, "Sarah... wait. Is that all I am to you?"

The Pink Ranger gave a mildly confused frown, "What are you talking about?"

Brad sighed, "Maybe I should have been a little more honest when I rode into Summer Cove several days ago. Maybe I should have told you that going to the Bike Rally wasn't the only big reason I came this way."

Sarah gasped in surprise, "You came to see me? I... I don't understand. Why are you saying all this now?"

"I know... it sounds kinda crazy," he admitted, "But I couldn't help it. I know it's been a while since we've seen each other or even talked but I really missed you when your family moved away from Panorama City. Hell, I didn't think I'd miss you that much either.

"Brad..."

"Wait, let me finish," he said as he walked over and took Sarah's hands, "I know it's been a few years and things change. I just didn't think you'd have changed this much, becoming even more beautiful and confident than I remember back in middle school."

"That's why you asked me before if I was involved with anyone?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

Brad nodded, "Sorry. I know it's crazy and a long distance thing would be tough... but I just figured I should throw my hat in the ring and try."

He began to lean in slowly to kiss Sarah but she stopped him gently. The Pink Ranger took a step back keeping her hand to his chest, "Wait Brad... I'm very flattered and all, but I'm sorry. I can't do this."

"I came on too strong, didn't I? Or maybe it's the long distance thing, isn't it?" he asked in confusion.

She shook her head, "No. It's just that... there might be someone else..."

Brad stopped and blinked a few times before he put the pieces together and scowled, "Wait... you have a thing for that dorky magician? You're telling me you like that Preston guy?"

"He's not a dork," she frowned defensively, "He's a..."

Sarah paused in mid-sentence as they both turned to see Preston make his way over from the crowds. Although Mick had helped him pinpoint the exact location of Sarah's ninja-comm, Preston had still felt a little bit of hesitancy to go there to that park. He knew the biking event was going on which meant that both Brad and a whole lot of other people were likely going to be there as well. Then again, given everything that happened it was probably better to follow Hayley's encouragement and act on his feelings. If not now, then when? He only hoped he could keep up his nerve and not make a complete fool of himself either.

To Sarah's surprise, Preston had dressed up for the occasion, albeit in an unusual way. He had put on a white collared shirt, a black necktie and dark blue blazer. In one hand he carried a small bundle of flowers and in the other he held what looked to be a rectangular object wrapped up in pink gift wrap. As Preston neared, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw how close Sarah and Brad were standing together. Her hand was still on his chest and it looked like he had stumbled into some sort of intimate conversation.

"Preston?" she gasped in wide eyed shock as she stepped back several more feet, "I... what are you doing here?"

The Blue Ranger blinked a few times and shifted uncomfortably while inwardly wanting to die of both shame and jealousy, "Oh... Sarah, hey. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to butt in on anything. I uh... I should probably just go now, huh?"

He backed away and turned to start walking off toward the opposite side the park where it was more secluded. He hoped he could blend in with some trees and bushes to make his escape quickly before letting too many people see the dejected look on his face. Sarah grimaced to herself and began hurrying after him, "Preston! Wait! It's not what you think! Come back!"

When she finally caught up with him a short distance away, he stopped and gave a sigh as she asked, "What is going on here? What is all that you're carrying?"

"I just thought I'd come and surprise you with an early birthday gift... but I can see I'm just barging in on your date today."

Sarah's mind was racing in confusion now, "What? No! It wasn't a date."

"Really? That's not what it looked like to me," Preston muttered petulantly as he half heartedly gave her the small bundle of flowers, "Listen, I can see there's something going on here so if you want to be with Brad, then I won't stand in your way. I just want you to be happy."

Sarah stared at the flowers for a moment and looked up at him, "Wait... you've got it all wrong. I..."

Before she could speak again the two Rangers heard the panicked sounds of civilians crying for help. They turned in shock to see that the monster Ice-Sickle had returned to terrorize the event in the park along with a small band of kudabots. With so many people concentrated in one spot, it was the perfect place to attack. With the monster's ice abilities, it also hoped to ice all the roads of Summer Cove and make conditions for the bikers so dangerous that some might get hurt or trapped as well. As the aliens began their rampage, the two Rangers exchanged a quick look deciding to set aside the personal drama for now in favor of helping the defenseless people. As they rushed across the grassy parkways and morphed while on the move, they could only hope that they would be able to make it in time.


	4. Closing Act

Bikers and other event goers scrambled in a terrified panic as the monstrous Ice-Sickle made his way through the parkways. Here and there, he used his icy sickle weapons to freeze swaths of the ground along with motorcycles, trees, and event stands. As the monster relished the violent mayhem, his company of kudabots fanned out and chased off civilians while wreaking destruction on the abandoned property of the civilians as well. Here and there several fleeing civilians tripped on the sheets of ice and hurt themselves while the kudabots began to round some others up as potential prisoners. Among that group of civilians was Brad Ellis who now found himself boxed in by a pack of the menacing foot soldiers. He had lost sight of Sarah in the confusion and had no idea if she had gotten away with Preston or not. Right now, he feared the worst as the soldiers closed in.

That was until a hail of blaster fire knocked several kudabots aside before the Pink Ninja Steel Ranger tumbled into the fray and cut down several more attackers with agile well placed slashes of her blade. While she protected the civilians and cleared out the kudabots, Preston took on Ice-Sickle in single combat, hoping the distract and stall the monster just long enough for the others to get away. The Blue Ranger tumbled in evasive movements and fought defensively with his ninja sword, barely keeping up with the monster's weapon slashes. As he clashed blades and deflected them in a deadly dance, he could feel the icy cold radiating off the steel.

"I don't have time for you Ranger, get out of my way," the monster hissed as he disarmed Preston and pummeled him with several brutal slashes. With one more icy blow, he knocked the Blue Ranger aside and sent him spinning sideways to the ground. As Preston lay stunned, he tried to shake the stars from his eyes and recover from the wind getting knocked out of him while the monster turned its attention toward the Pink Ranger.

Just as Sarah had finished defeating the kudabots, she turned in surprise only to see Ice-Sickle level its blades toward her and fire off several sprays of powerful icy energy. She deflected aside a few shots but gasped when she saw a stray burst go wide and explode on the ground near where Brad was standing. The young man was caught in the icy blast and thrown hard to the ground where he lay barely moving.

"Oh no!" Sarah cried out in alarm as she tried to rush over and help him.

"Not so fast Pinky," Ice-Sickle cackled as it fired off another beam of ice which blasted the ground right under Sarah's legs. To the Pink Ranger's alarm, she saw the ice crystallize around her legs effectively trapping her in place and leaving her at the monster's mercy.

From where he lay face down on the ground, Preston groaned and struggled to get up as the monster pushed past him, "No! Stop!"

Ice-Sickle turned to give a malicious grin to his first victim, "You just sit there and wait your turn Blue Ranger. Once I'm done with your little pink girlfriend and that pathetic human, I'll destroy you next."

The heartless words of the monster galvanized Preston and he forced himself to rise up and and make a leaping attack at the monster. Ice-Sickle turned in surprise as he was decked by a flying jump kick and sent tumbling off to the side. As the monster got back to his feet, he saw the Preston interposed himself between Ice-Sickle and Sarah. The monster snorted, "So you really want me to end you first, don't you?"

Preston gritted his teeth and valiantly stood his ground against the advancing monster, "I'm not through yet ice breath. My heart belongs to that girl and I'm not going to let you hurt her!"

Ice-Sickle regarded him with a contemptuous snort, "Then you're going to need some better tricks you little twerp, because so far I'm not impressed by you."

As Sarah stood frozen in stunned silence, she watched as Preston drew forth his magic wand and began to make some wide sweeping gestures, "Oh don't worry you creep. I've got one big trick left. I'm going to make you disappear for good!"

Swirling blue plumes of flaming energy materialized to circle around the Blue Ranger as he cast a powerful offensive spell he had been studying from the book given to him by Princess Viera. He made one last gesture and pointed the wand forward as the plumes of blue fire momentarily formed into a great winged dragon it and unleashed a terrible roar. Preston gave the last command out loud, " _Egar Nogard_!"

The flaming dragon made a gesture as if to breath fire before it erupted into an impressive swirling pyroclasm. The raging plumes of dragon fire swept over the lawn and engulfed the monstrous Ice-Sickle as it tried to fire back with its own icy energies. Unfortunately, it was of little use as the Ranger's powerful spell overwhelmed Ice-Sickle and completely obliterated him in an azure inferno. The icy monster gave a wail of anguish as it collapsed and exploded amid the magical blaze.

By now, the other Rangers arrived on the scene to help and they gathered around Sarah to break her legs free of the ice. As Calvin and Hayley used their element stars to use fire and melt the ice, Brody turned to the Pink Ranger in concern, "Sarah? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine," she nodded as she pulled her legs from the ice and tried to make sense of everything that had just happened.

"Well look at that," Levi whistled quietly as he watched the explosion from Ice-Sickle subside nearby. "Seems like things are well in hand here already."

A short distance away, Preston was watching the icy remains of the monster sprinkle down before he gave a satisfied nod and stowed his wind. While the other Rangers stopped to stare at the sight, Sarah turned to the downed form of Brad on the ground and came to her senses. "Oh my gosh! Everyone, we have to get help!"

She crouched down next to the unconscious form of her old classmate and made sure he wasn't hurt too badly. While she was busy tending to the injured Brad, Preston turned to see her and quietly shook his head to himself. He had already done what he could. He had taken out his frustration on the monster and there was nothing left to do but step aside. In that moment, he was glad his face was concealed by a visor as Brody and the others hurried over and regrouped with him.

"Presto... did you just take out that monster by yourself?" the Red Ranger asked in surprise.

"Yeah, everyone is safe now," Preston answered with a reluctant nod.

Hayley followed his line of sight over to where Sarah was still trying to help the injured Brad before she tilted her head back toward the ruins of the bike rally, "Come on everyone. Let's go check on the civilians and make sure everyone else is okay."

At that moment, Preston was grateful for the distraction and he followed behind the others, hoping to make themselves useful by helping the people left behind from the attack. From what they could see, there was still quite a mess and a lot of cleanup left to be done.

* * *

Early the following evening, Preston sat in the base of the Ninja Rangers glumly practicing some sleight of hand with some playing cards. As he pulled from groups of cards hidden in his sleeve, he'd toss them one by one into his magician's top hat a few feet away where it sat on another chair. Nearby, Mick and Redbot were also in the lab but they were busy with their own work.

While Mick did some scans on his computer, Redbot was fabricating a few metal components for some other project. At the moment, Preston was grateful that they seemed to pick up on his mood and just leave him be. Right now, he didn't feel much like talking or having to explain anything to them.

After the recent monster attack on the Bike Rally, Brad had been brought to the hospital to recover along with several other civilians who had attended the bike rally. Fortunately, he hadn't been hurt too badly and was expected to make a full recovery, only the whole thing had put a bit of a dampener on Sarah's birthday today. She had gone to the hospital to visit her friend and apologized to the rest of the Rangers saying that she wanted to postpone any further birthday celebrations right now. He really couldn't blame her and knew she had been a bit distracted with everything since the monster attack. Still, as he continued to flip cards into his hat, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous either. He knew it wasn't the right way to think and it probably wasn't becoming of a Power Ranger either, but he was still human.

He flipped another card from his sleeve and saw that it was the Ace of Hearts. He regarded the card glumly before tossing it toward the hat in disgust. "I'm such an idiot."

The card hit the edge of the hat and tumbled to the floor alongside a couple other cards as Mick turned his head sympathetically from his monitor. He had only heard that Sarah's birthday celebration with her Ranger friends had been cancelled for the day but he surmised that something else more personal was going on. He had spotted an object that was sitting on a corner lab table and it appeared to be some sort of gift in pink wrapping paper. He couldn't be too certain, but Mick decided to just leave the Blue Ranger be and ask him if he needed any help later. Before he could turn back to his work, he saw the entrance to the lab slide open and spotted Sarah walk in quietly.

"Uh... hey everyone, sorry to come by at a late hour," Sarah said giving Mick a little wave.

Preston froze a moment before continuing to pull cards and toss them into his hat. Mick raised one of his fuzzy eyebrows inquisitively, "Sarah. We weren't expecting to see you here tonight. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine Mick. Thanks," she answered craning her neck over to the far corner of the room, "I was actually coming by to look for Preston. I was hoping to talk to him about something."

"By all means. Talk away," Mick smiled politely while giving an inviting gesture into the room.

Sarah gave her mentor a pointed look, "It's kinda personal?"

It took a moment for it to register with Mick before he nodded and walked over to Redbot, "Ah... right. Come along Redbot, let's give the kids some space."

"Golly, is it that important? I was just about to finish rewiring this circuit board," Redbot protested.

Mick grabbed the robot by the shoulders and pushed him out of the room, "Take a walk with me. I'll give you another lesson on human feelings here."

Sarah waited until the two had left the lab before she came over and tentatively picked up the tophat sitting on the chair across from Preston. "Hey. Is this seat taken?"

He shrugged quietly before she set the hat down and brushed away some of other playing cards. As she took a seat she wrinkled her features a little, "So... I think we need to talk about yesterday."

"What is there to talk about?" Preston said as he emptied the last of the cards from his sleeve.

"Well... for starters, there were the flowers and the gift and what you had said in the heat of battle yesterday. Did you really mean all that? About your heart belonging to me?"

Preston nodded quietly, "Yeah... I did. Part of the reason I came out to the rally yesterday was because I wanted to apologize to you too."

"Apologize? For what?"

"For not telling you how I felt sooner," Preston confessed as he wrung his hands, "I had always kinda liked you Sarah, even from the first you came to our school. I thought maybe it was just a stupid crush at first and that it would go away in time. But the more time we've spent together hanging out as friends and working as Rangers, I came to realize that those feelings only got stronger and more real."

Sarah sat taking in his words before asking quietly, "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"I don't know... maybe because I was scared?" Preston answered looking to her a little shame faced, "I mean, come on. Why would someone like you ever want to go out with a total doofus like me? Half the school already thinks I'm a big nerd and they laugh at me whenever I try and perform a show for them. I'm always tripping over myself and my idea of excitement has nothing to do with being a Ranger or racing around town at top speed on a bike or a hoverboard."

"Well, did you ever stop and think for a second that maybe those are some of the qualities I like about you?" Sarah smiled gently meeting his eyes. "Maybe I like the fact that I have someone in my life who can act as a voice of reason and help keep me grounded. Maybe I like the fact that you're so passionate about doing what you love and practicing it in spite of what everyone else thinks. That takes a lot of confidence, just like what you've told me right now."

She reached out and took his hands, "But the thing I like about you most is how you've always been such a kind and loyal friend... someone we can depend on, and someone who's willing to put the feelings of others before himself, just like what you did yesterday."

Preston gave a weak smile, "A lot of good that's worth, huh? I'm sure it still doesn't change the fact that you still like Brad more and..."

"And that's where you're wrong," Sarah replied shaking her head, "That's what I was trying to tell you yesterday. Brad told me that he wanted to be more than just friends but I told him I couldn't because there was someone else I had feelings for."

Preston's eyes went wide in surprise, "What? Who?"

Sarah glared at him incredulously before it finally hit him, "Wait... me? You were talking about me?"

Sarah got up from her chair and paced around the lab a little nervously, "Well... yeah. And it really make me feel awful when I saw that you were trying to be romantic but got upset instead. You really had nothing to worry about."

"But Brad..."

"Is just an old friend and classmate of mine. That's all," Sarah said, "But the bond we share as Rangers... the things we've been through already and the friendship we have now... there's so much more to it and it means a lot to me too."

She stopped pacing a moment and stopped when she spotted the gift that was still sitting on the lab table. "What's this?"

"Oh... that," Preston said sheepishly while walking over to join her, "That was going to be your birthday gift from me but since you cancelled everything with the others today..."

"It's still my birthday," Sarah pointed out to him, "I think I'm allowed to change the rules and open a gift if I want to."

She curiously opened the wrapping and removed the gift only to look at it in surprise, "What is this?"

"Hayley gave me the idea, but I figured you could use a new diary," Preston said while she began to flip through the nice writing spiral adorned with an intricate pink floral cover. "You've got a whole new life here in Summer Cove and a fresh new year of Ranger adventures to record too."

"Preston... what a thoughtful gift. Thank you!" she exclaimed while giving him a hug. "But if I can be really honest, I was hoping you were going to give me a little something else for my birthday too."

"Oh no, another gift? What?" he asked in surprise while letting go of her for a moment.

She fixed him with another incredulous look, "You seriously have to ask?"

In that moment, she didn't realize he was only joking before he drew her back in and the two shared a long warm kiss. After a long moment passed, Sarah broke away slightly and let go much to Preston's dismay. She took a small breath to regain her own senses and grinned, "Wait... hold that thought."

She grabbed her new notebook along with a pen and started scribbling a few quick notes in it. Preston came over and tried to peek over her shoulder, "Sarah? What are you doing?"

"Making my first new journal entry about what an awesome boyfriend I have and all the great memories I hope to make with him and the Rangers over this next year."

"Now... by boyfriend you were referring to me, right?" Preston joked before Sarah stopped and gave him a little slap in the arm. "Okay! Just making sure."

As Sarah closed the notebook and walked out of the base with him, she gave a thoughtful look, "It's still too bad that my plans got a little messed up today with everything that's been going on. I would've liked to do go out with the others and get a nice meal somewhere."

"Well... for now, how about we salvage what's left of the evening and take a page out of Calvin and Haley's book? You up for some pizza on the way home?"

Sarah simply took his arm with a smile as they headed out of the base to celebrate an impromptu birthday and a first official date. "It's not birthday cake, but right now pizza sounds great."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Happy Valentine's Day everyone and hopefully you enjoyed this little short story too. Credit also goes to Lightspeed Rescue Ep. 26 for a little bit of inspiration in some adapted elements that went into the plot.  
**

 **Oh, and if anyone is able to figure out the name of Preston's spell, you'll know why it was "Super Effective" too. ;)**


End file.
